Is Kaden Smith the Giants’ biggest sleeper in 2020?

Is tight end Kaden Smith, Evan Engram’s backup, the New York Giants’ biggest sleeper heading into the 2020 season?

As the New York Giants prepare for their return to East Rutherford, many are already looking ahead at what the 2020 season could bring, which players will regress and which players will step up.

Every year there are a few new studs, a few new duds and those who seemingly come out of the shadows. In 2019, wide receiver Darius Slayton stole the show in New Jersey, while quarterback Daniel Jones had all remaining eyes on him.

The arrival of Jones and the emergence of Slayton, coupled with a highly-publicized injury to running back Saquon Barkley, overshadowed the play of tight end Kaden Smith.

A sixth-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers, Smith was claimed off of waivers and awarded to the Giants in mid-September. He went on to appear in nine games with six starts, hauling in 31 receptions for 268 yards and three touchdowns.

Those numbers aren’t enough to warrant a second look if you don’t drill down further. The reality is, Smith was an exciting play-maker who displayed impressive athleticism and a quality all-around game. For that reason, it should come as little surprise that he’s been named the Giants’ 2020 sleeper courtesy of Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report.

When you think of the tight end position for the New York Giants, you think of Evan Engram. But the 2017 first-round pick has been limited to just 14 starts over the last two seasons, and it’s fair to wonder about his durability.

New Giants offensive coordinator Jason Garrett also likes to utilize multiple tight ends when he’s got the talent at that position, so there’s a good chance we see a lot of Kaden Smith this year regardless of what happens with Engram.

The 2019 sixth-round pick didn’t make the cut with the San Francisco 49ers but jumped to New York during his rookie season and showed flashes of brilliance while establishing chemistry with Giants quarterback Daniel Jones down the stretch.

As Gagnon alludes, offensive coordinator Jason Garrett is big on multiple-tight end sets, so whether or not Evan Engram remains healthy, Smith is poised to play a major role on offense.

Entering the season, it’s safe to assume Smith will be a sleeper. How long he’s able to fly under-the-radar remains to be seen, but don’t expect that to last too long. Smith is just too talented to ignore.

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Levine Toilolo willing to do whatever Giants ask of him

Levine Toilolo literally doesn’t care what the New York Giants ask him to do because he’s ready to do it all.

After the retirement of Rhett Ellison this offseason, the New York Giants are dedicated to building their tight end corps back up. Sure, they have Evan Engram as their primary receiving option at the position and are high on second-year player Kaden Smith, but more is needed.

That is why they decided to bring in the 6-foot-8 Levine Toilolo in free agency; a player known for his blocking prowess and red zone presence.

Toilolo is a veteran who played much of his career in the Kyle Shanahan system which values a consistent rousing attack, which is what the Giants are trying to establish here under Joe Judge and Jason Garrett.

The featured back in the Giants offense is naturally Saquon Barkley and Toilolo will be lined up in the two tight end sets as an extra blocker with the intent of springing Barkley free, just like he did with the 49ers last season.

“I don’t know him personally,” Toilolo said of Barkley on a conference call on Wednesday with reporters. “I’ve just been able to watch him. Just the athlete that he is is always exciting to watch. I’m definitely excited to be able to get out there and hopefully do whatever I can to kind of help him out. Like I said, I’m just excited to be there and like I said, do whatever I can to help the team. If that’s trying to open up a hole or whatever, then I’m just going to focus on how I can try to help him and help this offense.”

Toilolo, like Kaden Smith, hails from Stanford, a school that produced many a solid NFL tight end.

“I think that’s one of the programs that allow you to do a little bit of everything as far as blocking and receiving being in a pro-style offense. I think that just kind of helps you develop your game in all different aspects. A lot of great tight ends come out of there like Zach Ertz and Coby Fleener that I got to be teammates with. It’s really a credit to the coaches there and obviously guys like Kaden that work hard at their craft,” he said.

Smith was picked up last season after the being released by the 49ers and filled din admirably down the stretch for the injured Ellison. This year, roles still have to be defined. Whatever role he’s given, Toilolo says he’s ready to dive in.

“All I know is I’m just coming in to work my tail off and do whatever they ask me to do. Whatever I can do to help the team win, that’s what I’ll do,” he said.

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Landon Collins knocks Dave Gettleman, slights Saquon Barkley

Washington Redskins safety Landon Collins took aim at New York Giants GM Dave Gettleman on Tuesday while also slighting Saquon Barkley.

Washington Redskins safety Landon Collins remains as sour as ever more than a year removed from his exit in East Rutherford, taking unnecessary swipes at New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman and running back Saquon Barkley during a Twitter Q&A on Tuesday.

Asked if he’d rather be quarantined with Gettleman during the coronavirus pandemic or send his kids to rival college LSU, the Alabama alumni unquestionably chose the latter.

Giants fans were quick to pepper Collins with questions about tight end Kaden Smith, who beat the safety for two touchdowns in a Week 16 game last year — the same game where things got a little physical — leading to a bit of a block-fest.

However, Collins was provided the opportunity to tip his cap to former teammate Saquon Barkley but punted, saying Ezekiel Elliott is the best running back in football, not Barkley.

For good measure, Collins also took a shot at Giants fans and the entire Tri-state area.

It’s obvious that things did not end the way Collins would have liked in New York, but that’s just the nature of the business sometimes. The Giants weren’t looking to pay a substantial amount of money for a one-dimensional safety and Collins wasn’t willing to give them a discount.

However that played out behind the scenes we’ll never know, but it’s clearly something that doesn’t sit well with Collins to this day.

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Report: Giants’ Evan Engram remains in walking boot, out until training camp

New York Giants tight end Evan Engram (foot) is still in a walking boot and will remain sidelined until at least the start of training camp.

The New York Giants have a seemingly endless amount of concerns entering the 2020 season and they were hoping another positional issue would not crop up, but it has.

Expectations were that the Giants would head into free agency with their depth at tight end set, but instead, they may have to worry about addressing that position as well.

Veteran Rhett Ellison is reportedly considering retirement after concussion issues plagued him in 2019, while the team recently released Scott Simonson and Isaiah Searight in what were essentially paperwork moves (Simonson recently explained).

That leaves Evan Engram, Kaden Smith and Garrett Dickerson as the remaining depth, and the news surrounding Engram is not exactly promising.

Engram was placed on season-ending injured reserve in mid-December with a foot injury that had previously kept him out for over a month, and later underwent surgery.

Nearly three months later, Engram is still in a walking boot and is not expected to return to the field until at least training camp, reports the New York Post.

Engram remains in a walking boot after his late December foot surgery. He is one of the NFL’s best receiving tight ends when healthy but has missed 14 games due to injury in his three-year career.

The Giants must decide by May whether to pick up Engram’s fifth-year contract option for 2021. He is expected to be sidelined until training camp.

As talented and dynamic as Engram may be, his inability to stay healthy and on the field depletes his value. He’s inconsistent and unreliable as the result of his injury history, and that may be why the Giants are so keen on Kaden Smith. It may also be why they choose to address the tight end position this offseason, be it through the draft or free agency.

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Candlestick Chronicles: 49ers’ 2019 draft was home run

The 49ers’ 2019 rookies were among the best in the NFL.

The 49ers’ run to the Super Bowl had as much to do with the production of their rookie class than anything else.

Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee and Kyle Madson take a look back at the 49ers’ 2019 draft, and issue grades for each selection with the benefit of hindsight on the 2019 season.

It’s important to remember though that one year doesn’t make a career, and they discuss what each player needs to do moving forward to continue improving.

https://candlestick-chronicles-a-49ers-pod.simplecast.com/episodes/49ers-hit-home-run-in-2019-nfl-draft

Giants’ 2019 rookies finished fourth in NFL.com power rankings

The New York Giants’ 2019 NFL Draft class finished fourth overall in the NFL.com power rankings, but could have easily been second.

The New York Giants have received hefty praise for their 2019 draft class, which comes with a thick serving of irony given how critical many are of general manager Dave Gettleman and his perceived misuse of analytics.

Already this offseason, the Giants have seen their rookies lauded, even topping their NFC East rivals with a letter grade of “A-” courtesy of Nick Shook of NFL.com.

That praised continued recently with NFL.com’s Gennaro Filice and Nick Shook releasing their final 2019 rookie power rankings, in which Big Blue checked in fourth overall.

NEW YORK GIANTS: A-

The Giants made the most of their haul from the Odell Beckham trade, which landed them, in part, the 17th overall pick, by selecting Lawrence, who had a solid rookie season. New York also might have found its franchise QB in Jones, answering a huge question for the team’s foundation. Baker had a tough start but finished strong and stands to make a significant improvement in Year 2. Ximines was effective in his first season despite making just two starts, recording 4.5 sacks. Love is an exciting young player for the back end of New York’s defense. Darius Slayton was an excellent find in the fifth round. Ballentine struggled with a position change to the slot, but he could improve with more time.

The only three teams to check in ahead of the Giants were the Jacksonville Jaguars (third, A-), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (second, A-) and San Francisco 49ers (first, A).

The argument could be made that the Giants’ rookies were actually better than both the Jaguars’ and Buccaneers’, but you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who would argue they were better than the haul San Francisco walked away with.

Interestingly however, the 49ers received credit for drafting tight end Kaden Smith, who ultimately ended up with the Giants.

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Giants get an A- grade for 2019 draft class

The New York Giants were recently given a letter grade of A- for their 2019 NFL Draft class courtesy of NFL.com.

The 2020 NFL Draft is just around the corner, so what better time to look back on the 2019 NFL Draft to see how teams and players did one year in?

That’s exactly what Nick Shook of NFL.com did this week when he graded the draft class of all four NFC East teams with the New York Giants earning the top letter grade of A-.

The Giants made the most of their haul from the Odell Beckham trade, which landed them, in part, the 17th overall pick, by selecting Dexter Lawrence, who had a solid rookie season. New York also might have found its franchise QB in Daniel Jones, answering a huge question for the team’s foundation. DeAndre Baker had a tough start but finished strong and stands to make a significant improvement in Year 2. Oshane Ximines was effective in his first season despite making just two starts, recording 4.5 sacks. Julian Love is an exciting young player for the back end of New York’s defense. Darius Slayton was an excellent find in the fifth round. Corey Ballentine struggled with a position change to the slot, but he could improve with more time.

Free agency/combine focus: Is New York going to attempt to retain Leonard Williams, who was acquired via trade with the Jets in October and is headed for free agency? Darius Slayton, who led the team with 740 receiving yards and eight touchdown catches, was a nice find, but with second-leading receiver Golden Tate (676 yards, six TD catches) at 31 years old, more capital needs to be invested at the position in a deep draft class. The Giants also need to decide whether they’re willing to pay to keep linebacker Markus Golden (10.0 sacks) and right tackle Mike Remmers, with the former serving as a pleasant revival and the latter helping bolster what was once New York’s most glaring weakness. The Giants are still going to need to address linebacker one way or another and decide whether to seek additional edge help or invest in Williams.

Shook also gave the Giants a nod for eventually finding a way to get tight end Kaden Smith onto their roster — a very deserving tip of the cap.

Comparatively, the Washington Redskins also earned a letter grade of A-, while the Philadelphia Eagles were given a “B” and the Dallas Cowboys given a “C-.”

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Giants Wire Year-End Awards: Who were Big Blue’s best in 2019?

On the final day of 2019, we look back at the season that was and hand out awards to the New York Giants.

When the clock hit zero on Sunday, it was a wrap for the New York Giants as far as the 2019 season goes.

After a successful summer and preseason, the Giants ended up finishing 4-12 and with the fourth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

There was a lot of losing, especially during a nine-game streak of futility that lasted over two months. But the Giants, who were viewed as a young rebuilding team, were able to let a lot of their young players grow and develop on the field.

Rebuilding teams go through a lot of difficult times, just like the Giants did when they had a rookie quarterback in Eli Manning in 2004, but hopefully for the team’s sake, it will lead to better times with Daniel Jones now under center.

So who are the end of the year award winners for the Giants in the 2019 season?

Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

Most Valuable Player: Daniel Jones

For someone who was handed the entire offense of the Giants in Week 3, Daniel Jones had a heck of a season.

Jones finished the season playing in 12 games, starting 11 of them. He threw for 3,027 yards with 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Jones missed two games during the end of the season due to an ankle sprain, in which, Eli Manning got to end his tenure with the Giants and say goodbye to the fans he played in front of for 16 years.

But for a rookie to step in and play for a rebuilding team, Jones played exceptionally well. Even Manning’s rookie season was not as good as Jones’, no matter what the win-loss record said.

Despite the Giants going 4-12 and Jones going 3-9 as the starter, Jones has given the fan base every reason to believe that he can be the franchise quarterback of the future.

Jones was definitely the Giants team MVP in 2019, which is a great building block for his future, along with the Giants as well, who invested a lot in him.

5 reasons Giants could upset Eagles in Week 17

The New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles square off in Week 17, and here are five reasons Big Blue could come away with the win.

As the 2019 season comes to a close, the New York Giants will finish with a losing record for the third straight year.

On a brighter note, they have a chance to finish the season strong by closing out on a three-game winning streak by beating the Philadelphia Eagles. By doing so, the G-Men would ultimately be playing spoiler against an Eagle team that must win to clinch the NFC East division title.

If the Eagles lose and the Cowboys beat the Redskins, then Dallas will be crowned division champions. The Eagles are riding a three-game winning streak of their own, which started against the Giants in Week 14. Now, Philadelphia is looking to cap off their season with a fourth straight divisional win, along with the crown in the east.

Let’s take a look at five reasons why the Giants could fulfill the act of spoiler on Sunday.

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Momentum

Both teams are riding respective winning streaks, but the pressure is 100% on the Eagles, who must win to get into the playoffs.

The Giants received promising performances last week from Daniel Jones, who threw for a career high 352 yards and five touchdown passes to go along with Saquon Barkley and his two touchdowns on 279 yards from scrimmage (Giants single-game franchise record, 189 rushing, 90 receiving).

While the defense has remained shaky, the offense was clicking on all-cylinders and if Jones and Barkley can put up similar numbers this week, they could potentially play spoiler against this red-hot Eagles team.

Giants’ Daniel Jones let Kaden Smith keep game-winning TD ball: He earned it

New York Giants rookie QB Daniel Jones let TE Kaden Smith keep his record-setting TD ball because Smith “earned it.”

When the New York Giants beat the Washington Redskins on Sunday, it was a record-breaking day for Daniel Jones. Jones had five touchdowns in the overtime victory, tallying 352 yards.

This was Jones’ first overtime win and stat-wise, he had a career-high in touchdowns. Jones was impressive, especially in overtime. And as he methodically led Big Blue down the field, you could see the calmness and confidence in the rookie quarterback.

Jones would end the drive by connecting with tight end Kaden Smith over Redskins safety Landon Collins.

Let’s be real here, many Giants fans didn’t know who Smith was prior to the season starting, but with injuries on the tight end front, Smith has flourished in his time on the team.

After the game, Smith offered the ball from the game-winning touchdown to Daniel Jones. Apparently, Jones declined because he believed Smith deserved it more.

In a season where Jones has had a lot of issues with ball security, especially in the fumbling department, it was nice to see him shine in his first game back from injury as the season winds down.

The fact that Jones turned down the ball from Smith also shows a leadership quality that many teams would love for their quarterback to have. In a year where there is a clear passing of the torch from Eli Manning to Daniel Jones, it seems like Giants fans are going to see a lot of the same acts that they have seen from Manning over the last decade and more.

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